Sushma Swaraj discusses Pak strategy with ex-envoys, former foreign secys

A strategy on Pakistan was discussed on Sunday by the government with former foreign secretaries and ex-envoys to the neighbouring country, a day after the terror strike at a vital air base in Pathankot. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj held consultations here which were also attended by S K Lambah, G Parthasarathy, Shyam Saran, Shivshankar Menon, Satyabrata Paul, Sharad Sabharwal and TCA Raghavan.

The External Affairs Ministry did not give details of this unusual meeting and termed it only as "diplomatic consultations on Pakistan strategy".

Today's discussion came amidst a raging debate over the possible impact of the Pathakot terror strike on Indo-Pak dialogue which had got a fillip after a surprise visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Lahore to meet his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif.

In a pre-dawn attack, a group of heavily-armed Pakistani terrorists, suspected to be belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammed outfit, struck at the Air Force base in Punjab yesterday, leading to a fierce gunbattle.